If you have prostate cancer, are concerned about getting it, or if you're looking out for the health of someone you love, this article can help.
Early prostate cancer is confined to the prostate gland itself; most of the patients with this type of cancer can live for years without any problems.
At an advanced age, the risks of surgery for prostate cancer or other more radical treatments may actually be worse than the disease.
Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among men in the U.
S.
In most men, prostate cancer grows very slowly:most men will never know they have the condition.
Prostate cancer is a malignant tumor of the prostate gland.
One prostate cancer symptom is difficulty starting urination or holding back urine.
Additional symptoms that may be associated with this disease are bone pain or tenderness, and abdominal pain.
If cancer is caught at its earliest stages, most men will not experience any symptoms.
Other symptoms might include unintentional weight loss and lethargy.
Having one or more cancer symptoms does not necessarily mean that you have prostate cancer.
There are several symptoms to be aware of.
There is a newer test called AMACR that is more sensitive than the PSA test for determining the presence of prostate cancer.
CT scans may be done to see if the cancer has spread.
A prostate biopsy usually confirms the diagnosis.
A urinalysis may indicate if there is blood in the urine.
There are several potential downsides to PSA testing; for example a high PSA does not always mean a patient has prostate cancer.
One downside to PSA testing is that health care providers are detecting and treating some very early-stage prostate cancers that may never have caused the patient any harm.
Impotence is a potential complication after the prostatectomy or after radiation therapy.
If chemotherapy is decided upon after the first round of chemotherapy, most men receive further doses on an outpatient basis at a clinic or physician's office.
In the early stages, surgery and radiation may be used to remove or attempt to kill the cancer cells or shrink the tumor.
Urinary incontinence can be a possible complication of surgery.
What you can do now is begin to understand what exactly your treatment options are and where you're going to begin.
An oncology specialist will usually recommend treating with a single drug or a combination of drugs.
Other medications used for hormonal therapy, with side effects, include androgen-blocking agents, which prevent testosterone from attaching to prostate cells.
The conventional treatment of prostate cancer is often controversial.
Thoroughly discuss your treatment options and concerns with your doctor and other health professionals; it never hurts to get a second or even third opinion or more if necessary.
Prostate cancer that has spread (metastasized) may be treated conventionally with drugs to reduce testosterone levels, surgery to remove the testes, chemotherapy or nothing at all.
Since prostate tumors require testosterone to grow, reducing the testosterone level is used to prevent further growth and spread of the cancer.
Treatment options can vary based on the stage of the tumor.
Radiation therapy to the prostate gland is either external or internal, both of which use high-energy rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors.
Some drugs with numerous side effects are being used to treat advanced prostate cancer, blocking the production of testosterone, called chemical castration; it has the same result as surgical removal of the testes.
Consider sites, such as this one, just a starting point where you can begin to learn about prostate cancer.
The one thing that you should not do however is rely on any information obtained from the Internet to make your final decision.
Make sure to read everything you can get your hands on and mull it all over.